Crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of an electrospun ethanol‐mediated poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibrous membrane

A simple approach for preparing electrospun poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibrous membranes with excellent spinnability and mechanical properties is introduced in this article. To enhance the electrospinnability of PET, a small content of ethanol was incorporated into a 16 wt % PET solution. The effects of ethanol on the solution properties, mechanical properties and crystallization properties and the related morphology were systematically evaluated. The conductivity (κ) measurement indicated that ethanol could obviously improve κ of the PET solution; this correlated well with the morphology of fibers. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the diameter of the fibers decreased with increasing solution κ. The tensile strength of the PET fibrous membrane increased 1.8 times through the blending of 2.5 vol % ethanol with the PET solution. The differential scanning calorimetry results showed that the crystallinity was improved when the ethanol content increased; this was beneficial to the enhancement of the tensile strength. The glass-transition temperature and melting temperature increased slightly, but the cold-crystallization peak shifted to a lower temperature with increasing ethanol content (<3.75 vol %); this was attributed to the increasing in the oriented degree. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42341.